Halloween dessert : Creepy caramel apples

Today, I share with you a recipe from my dear friend Kiah Brasch from “Rustling Up Some Grub”. She’s doing a great work for entomophagy and she is an educator both children and adults! Let’s start with her Halloween dessert!

After a long and cold day or for a week-end dessert, nothing will refill us better than this sweet recipe. It is ideal for the autumn period. The green apples will give us some vitamins and antioxydants during this cold season. Our nutty and tasty mealworms roasted with the honey will strengthen our defenses. In contrast, the caramel and the vanilla will satisfy our sweet tooth!

Funny fact : In french, this recipe doesn’t really exists and can be considered as a “candy apple”. The french name for a “Candy apple” is “Pomme d’amour” which means literally “Apple of love”. With our mealworms, the name had never fit so perfectly to this recipe!

Insects used : Mealworms, larva stage of the darkling beetle (Tenebrio Molitor).

Preparation time : 30 min
Cooking time : 10 min

Ingredients (for 5 apples):

• 5 Granny Smith Apples
• 1 and 1/2 lbs of soft caramels
• 2 tablespoons of milk
• 1 and 1/2 cup of mealworms
• 2 tablespoons of honey
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
• 1 teaspoon of salt divided
• 3 tablespoons of sugar

Directions :

Rehydration of the mealworms :

Put the mealworms in a boiling pot of water during 2 minutes .
Drain them in a strainer and transfer them to a paper towel.

Preparation of the mealworms:

Preheat your oven at 350°F
Heat the honey, butter, vanilla and 1/2 of salt in a saucepan over medium-low heat.
Once it is melted, stir the mealworms and toss to coat.
Pour the mealworms evenly onto a baking sheet.
Roast the mealworms in the oven for seven minutes.
Remove from oven, break up the clumps and let cooling for a few minutes.
Toss to coat in the sugar and the rest of the salt.

Preparation of the apples:

Remove the stems of the washed apple.
Press a craft stick into the top.

Add the soft caramels with the milk in a bowl and microwave for 2 minutes.
Kiah’s advice : Remove them once during the microwaving for stir them in order to have an evenly melted caramel.

Roll each apple into the caramel and let them cooling on a parchment.
Kiah’s advice : The perfect cooling time will be when the apples won’t drip but be not too hard!

Roll the caramel apple [in the mealworms] on the baking sheet and let cooling again on a parchment

Bug Appétit!

Personal note : I will try this recipe for my friends, I’m sure they will love it! I’m thinking of adding some cinnamon, it’s a very popular spice in Strasbourg and it’s used very oftenly during the autumn and the winter.